Dodge City Middle school is a very specialized school that understands the physical, intellectual, ethical, psychological and emotional development of the young adolescent and addresses those needs through a carefully planned school structure.

Individual School Pictures

LIFETOUCH will be taking individual school pictures on Wednesday, August 31st. Picture envelopes for ordering your child’s pictures will be sent home on Monday, August 29th. Everyone will be photographed, but only those paying will receive pictures. Picture day will be a non-uniform day. Students will be asked to follow the non-uniform dress code. Individual school pictures taken on August 31st will be the picture used for the yearbook! (Select the following link for information on the Non-Uniform Day Dress Code.)

Anyone that is not satisfied with his/her school pictures may return the entire assortment to the school within three school days, and a refund will be made by check. A retake day is scheduled for October 19th.

Remember that payment is required at the time pictures are taken. Please make checks payable to LIFETOUCH.

Summer Reading Pays Off Year-Round

The following students in grade eight were recognized for the DCMS summer reading program.Skyler ChildressMadison DuranJalen GiffordBrian GrothChristina JimenezCourtney RogersKolin WalkerNoah Williams

“It’s like if you play an instrument but put it down for three months,” said principal Mike King at the summer reading awards ceremony. “You’re not going to be as good as a person who continues to play the instrument over those three months.” However, it is not ever to late to catch up on reading skills by ensuring that children are as engaged as possible in whatever they choose to read—just as long as they’re reading every day.

Dodge City Middle School Joins the Information Age

New this year to Dodge City Middle School is the Digital Backpack. The Digital Backpack will include school announcements, special events, meeting announcements and school notes. To access downloadable documents click on the topic link for (pdf) documents in the digital backpack. Parents simply print out the form they need, sign, and the student delivers it to the school office.

Also located on the website's Digital Backpack page is "Pod Central." This is where parents, students and community members can have access to digital recordings of upcoming school events or monthly news. "A podcast is like a radio newscast which can easily be uploaded to a mobile device like a cell phone, iPod/iPad, or just simply played from the Digital Backpack website. It's like an mp3 that students download from their favorite music site. The only difference is that instead of playing music, it plays an audio cast of various school events that demonstrate school pride and general information.Additionally, Dodge City Middle School hopes as a school we can provide more outreach to parents and the community with the Twitter site. What is Twitter? According to Wikipedia, a free on-line encyclopedia, "Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter Web site, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. While the service costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees." DCMS plans to "Tweet" (send instant messages) to all subscribers of the DCMS twitter account each time new updates occur to the digital backpack site. The instant messaging site is now available for parents or community members who are interested in participating in the instant messaging "Twitter" service.

Team News English

Team News Spanish

The Top Five Things We Believe at DCMS

On September 7th through September the 9th all students at Dodge City Middle School will be involved in a special workshop design for middle level students. Each team of seventh and eight grade students will have a time were they will be taught the “Top Five Things We Believe.” This presentation will be brought to our school by Joe Coles a native of Coldwater, Kansas. Mr. Coles will help our students understand the daily practices that currently affect teenagers and will help our students to become more productive in the future. As teachers and parents we know that most teens are now forming daily habits that will become fully developed in just a few years. Joe will cover such topics as how to deal with peer pressure, staying motivated about learning, and ways to become successful as a teenager by developing personal goals.

Joe Coles is an excellent presenter and is well known throughout the state of Kansas. Joe is a former college athlete at Southwestern College, teacher, coach, counselor, school administrator/athletic director and most recently, his work as a speaker and consultant on a variety of educational issues.

Caught Cha!” Awards

Some of you may have had students come home with “Caught Cha!” awards. These are positive behavior referrals issued by teachers and staff at Dodge City Middle School. They can be issued for any type of positive behavior - good work in class, courtesy, helping out a teacher, improvement in academics or behavior. These are duplicate forms, and the staff members sends home one copy with the student, and the other copy is entered into a weekly drawing for a “non-uniform day”. These days are always held on Mondays, and a parent note and paper bracelet are sent home on the Friday before to identify the students who have won the non-uniform day.

FIRST DCMS PARENT ACADEMY (MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH)

On Monday, September 12th we will be having our first Parent’s Academy session of the school year. This month will have a one session two part theme, all built around bullying and internet safety. The first part of the one session theme will be information on Bullying and how to help kids deal with bullies, and how they can become their own advocates when it comes to bullies. We want to create a building where kids feel safe. In the second part of the session, our presenter Mr. Joe Coles will introduce to parents and students the importance of internet safety and how to monitor your child's internet use at home. We think these two sessions will provide you and your child with great information. The presentation will be in the DCMS auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12th. Any DCMS student who attends with their parent will receive a non-uniform day on Tuesday, September 13th. Bracelets will be handed out at the end of the presentation. Free baby sitting will be provided, so please come and help your child’s school year begin the road to success! (See Non-Uniform Day Policy Information)

PROTECTING STUDENTS AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL

With more and more teenagers using the Internet, it is important that parents be involved in their children’s online activities. A combined, concerted effort between parents and school employees can best protect students from cyber predators and dangers on and off school grounds.Communication between parent and child is a key component of online safety. Children should know they can discuss with their parents their concerns, questions and fears about the Internet.Just as we would not let students drive a car on the highway with no preparation, neither should we allow children to navigate the “Information Super Highway” without guidance. The Dodge City Middle School staff can serve as a resource for parents as we work together to protect our students when they visit the virtual world.Excelent Resource for Internet Safety: (Wired Safety) (SafeKids.com)

INTERNET TIPS FOR STUDENTS

When using the Internet, instantly remove yourself from any area where you feel you should not be. Never give strangers information about you or agree to meet them in person over the Internet.

Be wary of get rich promotional schemes posted on the Internet promising you lots of money.

Ignore demeaning messages and report messages or images that are obscene, lewd, filthy, or with the intent to harass you.

Never enter information about yourself without your parent's guidance.

When using the Internet, leave sites that you feel you should not be visiting.

If material or messages sent to you through email contains material that makes you feel uncomfortable, report it to your Internet service provider.

VISION STATEMENT

Dodge City Middle School will foster a culture with independent learning where students can achieve their full potential in academics, personal, physical and moral development in the 21st Century.